Chapter 489 The Journey Continues

Isaac pointed at the center of his chest. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly before he replied to Keng.

"It feels like breathing to me." Isaac answered. "I know that answer sounds really unhelpful, but to me it feels like breathing." He looked up at the sky. "When I opened my Soul gates, I was a teenager. People usually get it opened when they've gone through puberty, some later when they're adults. I've been training up until that point. My powers manifested when I was young so I had years of training. For me, I could tell the difference. It was about a fifteen percent increase of energy, overall, but there really isn't a feeling for me. It blends together now."

The crowd slowly dissipated as Isaac and Keng stood there for a while. Keng started to nod, taking in the information. He took a deep breath and felt his energy move around for a bit. He honestly couldn't feel a difference.

? 'Some people feel a difference, others don't. Some people get strong reactions, some people don't.' Keng thought to himself. 'I've only been around for a bit, so everything would probably feel the same to me.'

"Well," Isaac cleared his throat after the long silence between them. "I think we cleared everything up, yeah?"

"Yeah." Keng nodded.

"Let's get to know each other properly tonight. I think I heard Elder Jyu'so was pretty restless about you, so he'll probably want to leave as soon as possible."

"Yeah, we were supposed to leave after your welcome back party." Keng scratched his head. "But since my Soul gates were opened, it delayed it a bunch."

"Don't worry about it." Isaac reassured him. "It's a good thing your Soul gates were opened. It just means you'll be a bit stronger handling whatever thing in Pea'ir." Keng nodded and Isaac motioned for him to follow. "Let's go chat with the others. I think Sir Gorrum and Elder Jyu'so are saying goodbye to the Healers that are just now leaving."

***

Lee Seng stepped out of the bathroom, drying his hair with one hand with the towel around his neck. It had become night and the dinner Crow had made hit the spot. Lee Seng moved across the hall and opened the door to his bedroom. Crow had told him this is where he would stay and Lord Cain had sent some clothes for him to where. He shut the door behind him, replaying the conversation of why he needed clothes as a spirit.

"It's not like the movies, y'know." Crow told him. They sat across from each other at the dinner table with the food picked clean. "All the media you consume might tell you when you leave your body and project yourself out there, you'll be in some spiritual ghastly form but that's not true at all. You still wear the clothes you wore then. In your case, you made the deal to be a Collector for Lord Cain, so he changed the clothes you are wearing."

"And because he changed it, I always need clothes now?" Lee Seng asked. Crow chuckled and nodded.

"It's not as simple as that, but think of it as you're still you even if you're in your spirit form. You need clothes because that's how the universe dictates it."

Lee Seng chuckled remembering that conversation. He sat down in his white t-shirt and boxers.

"Lord Cain has a sense of style." Lee Seng whispered to himself. "Thank god for that." He tossed the towel onto the chair and looked around the room. It was small and cozy. He had a twin bed in the corner of the room with a desk and chair a couple feet next to it. The closet was in front of him and the exit was on the right end of the closet wall.

Lee Seng got up and flicked the lights off. He made his way to bed, under the sheets and looked up at the ceiling.

"I wonder how Keng's doing." Lee Seng whispered. He lifted a hand up and moved it around for a bit. "Are you doing okay, Keng? Do you miss me? I miss having someone to talk to."

Lee Seng set his arm back to his side and took a deep breath. He tried desperately to ignore the hole in his heart. Well, he guessed his soul, technically. He took another deep breath and allowed sleep to take him.

'At least when I sleep, I have a chance of seeing you.'

The sun spilled into the window as Lee Seng opened his eyes. The smell of breakfast made its way under the door, finding its next victim. He lifted himself up and rubbed his eyes. He pushed the blanket off and made his way to the closet. He picked out a simple outfit with shorts, so he could freely move about during training and set his night clothes on the chair and made his bed. Lee Seng opened the door and walked out of the room, making his way to the dining room table.

"Morning." Lee Seng waved.

"Hello, hello." Crow replied. "Food's done." She moved back and forth from the kitchen to the dining room table, setting the food down. It was eggs, sausages, and congee. "Sleep okay?"

"I slept well." Lee Seng replied. "What're we gonna do today?" He scooped some food into his bowl and plate and began to eat as Crow took a sip of her morning coffee.

"We'll do the basics and then spar some more."

"For how long?"

"Until night, again, probably. We'll continue to do it until you're accustomed to your energy then you're off Debt Collecting." Crow told him. Lee Seng nodded and scooped some congee from his bowl and ate it.

Time felt like an eternity there. Lee Seng and Crow trained day after day, never deviating from the schedule. They would eat, talk, do basics, and spar, only taking breaks to eat, again. Many months seemed to go by in an instant and it wasn't until one day, the schedule suddenly changed.

"Alright, now we'll go into weapons." Crow told Lee Seng. She looked at him as he stretched.

"We're deviating from the schedule?" Lee Seng asked, eyes lighting up. It was a nice change to have. Crow would beat him day in and day out. He learned a little more from her each time, but that was hard when you were being pummeled by a small woman.

"Yes. We have some time left so I want to see you fight with a weapon. Lucky for you, Lord Cain found the perfect weapon for you." A familiar katana appeared in front of him. It was his runic katana he had seemingly made in Limbo.

"Oh, my katana!" Lee Seng snatched it in the air and pulled it out. Same runes, same colors. "Man, I thought I wouldn't be able to use this again."

"He fetched it for you. You should thank him when you're out of here." Crow suggested.

"Mmm, I'll be sure to thank him. I haven't gotten to use this in awhile. I've honestly not been able to do anything the past couple of months because of surgery."

"So you've been antsy the whole time."

"Exactly." Lee Seng hopped up onto his feet. "That's why I'm glad we're sparring so much. I can get back into the swing of things."

"Are you ready to go then?" Crow asked.

"Yup. Let's go."

***

Eleven stepped into the building with a large grin on his face. He wore the Academy's outfit, one button left unbuttoned at the top. He slumped the backpack over one shoulder as he looked around. The students moved through the halls and past him, all talking as an arm wrapped around his shoulder.

"Hey, you're back?" Ritsuka asked.

'This one's Ritsuka Yamada. He knows the host's secret.' Eleven thought to himself.

"Yeah, I'm back." Eleven nodded. "Did you miss me?" He let out a smile as the two of them moved down the hall.

"Mmm, it was quiet without a workout buddy. You wanna workout tonight?" Ritsuka asked.

"Oh, I actually can't today." Eleven lied. Ritsuka looked at him, curious.

"Gotta go back to the lab?" Ritsuka asked. "Did something happen? Is…" He looked around before whispering into Eleven's ear, "Did the Creator do something to you?"

"No nothing like that." Eleven shook his head. "I just gotta do more check ups. The Creator wants to keep track of my status. I'm basically back to normal, but he still wants to run those tests."

"Ahh." Ritsuka nodded. "Well, I'll see you back home at least, right?"

"Yeah. I'll be home." Eleven nodded.

"Come on, we don't have much time. We have a quiz today." Ritsuka pulled Eleven through the crowd of students.

'I'll have to figure out a way to get rid of this guy. He's the most dangerous out of all of them.' Eleven thought. 'I should be wary about the other Deimons… I'll need to kill them without getting on their radar… Ugh, I wish I didn't have to meet them today. I could get some scouting done. I need a plan for my eventual takeover.'